Schizophrenia (SCH) and bipolar disorder (BD) are severe mental disorders which lead to psychotic, affective and cognitive symptoms and often cause a progressive functional deterioration of the individual. The current diagnosis of SCH and BD essentially depends on clinical observation that often leads to misdiagnosis and the introduction of non-specific treatments. Therefore, an early detection and intervention are determinant for a better prognosis. Improving outcomes of a First Episode of Psychosis (FEP) depends mainly on the identification of reliable and discriminatory biomarkers between both disorders.

Given that oxidative stress has been tightly involved in multiple metal disorders, the major goal of this work was to characterize oxidative alterations in order to identify potential biomarkers which allow the differential diagnosis in an early stage.

The study was carried out on samples from 49 subjects (14 women and 35 men), divided into four groups: a control group of 10 individuals not previously diagnosed with any serious mental disorder, 17 patients who had presented a FEP, 12 patients diagnosed with SCH and 10 patients diagnosed with BP. Biochemical analysis were conducted in erythrocyte fraction to characterize the cellular oxidative damage by measuring lipid peroxidation (LPO) levels and the antioxidant defense system by the evaluation of catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities.

In the present work, we observed a significant increase in LPO levels in both SCH and BD disorders that was not neutralized by the antioxidant defense. It was found that SCH patients, despite exhibiting greater activities of SOD and CAT compared to BD individuals, also showed significantly higher levels of oxidative damage. The differential oxidative profile observed between SCH and BD individuals allowed to perform an individually analysis of patients diagnosed with FEP. Although it was not possible to identify the type of psychotic disorder of all the patients with FEP, the results obtained showed that while several individuals exhibited an oxidative prolife similar to that observed in SCH patients, other individuals presented a prolife very similar to that found in patients with BD.

The current work reveals that LPO is a potential indicator of worse prognosis after being differentially modified in both SCH and BD. Moreover, SOD and CAT have been identified, by presenting an opposite profile between patients with SCH and BD, as potential preliminary biomarkers for a discriminatory diagnosis in an early stage of the disorder.

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Because of their mechanism of action, treatments used in Parkinson’s disease can lead to the development of non-motor symptoms, including neuropsychiatric manifestations such as psychotic symptoms and mood disturbances such as depression. Cariprazine is a new atypical antipsychotic, D3 receptor antagonist, with lower affinity for the 5HT2A receptor and higher affinity for alpha 1B adrenergic receptors than any other antipsychotic, which has been shown in preclinical studies that play an important role in ameliorating levodopa-induced psychotic symptoms in patients with Parkinson’s disease.

A case of a patient with psychosis related to Parkinson’s Disease and depressive symptoms is presented followed by a theoretical review on the topic.

A case is presented with a bibliographic review.

A 66-year-old male was hospitalized in the psychiatric unit of short hospitalization with psychotic symptomatology and presence of depressive symptoms.

The patient presented in his medical history two previous hospitalizations with depressive clinic with psychotic symptomatology in 2018 and February 2022, the last one after been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in January 2022. The introduction of Parkinson’s Disease treatment with levodopa/benserazide caused a secondary worsening of his psychotic symptomatology. In addition to this, the patient was being treated with quetiapine, desvenlafaxine and clonazepam.

During the hospitalization, the dose of desvenlafaxine was increased and quetiapine treatment was replaced by cariprazine because of no clear improvement in symptomatology. After 24 hours, the patient showed a clear clinical improvement: better mood, delirious ideas decreased as well as the hearing of voices. No adverse events related with this medication were observed. After 20 days of hospitalization, the patient was discharged with favorable evolution.

Although most of the studies available so far propose quetiapine as the antipsychotic treatment of choice for levodopa-induced psychosis in patients with Parkinson’s disease, the case report presented strengthens the recent data described in the literature on cariprazine in the treatment of psychosis related to Parkinson’s Disease. However, additional long-term studies including a larger number of patients with long-term follow-up will be necessary to confirm the efficacy of this drug in this type of patients with this pathology.

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The closure of forensic psychiatric hospitals and the conversion to a residential model of care based on secure residential units in the community (REMS) has made Italy the first and only country in the world to have followed the principles of the deinstitutionalization movement. Following the reform, several management issues have emerged, such as the creation of long waiting lists for admission to REMS. Improper hospitalization in Acute Psychiatric Units (SPDC) has often been used to address this issue. In addition, the handover of inmates’ care to Mental Health Departments (DSMD’s) has posed further challenges. To date, the field has received little attention from international literature.

Description and analysis of a sample of offender inpatients hospitalized in an acute psychiatric unit.

We conducted a retrospective study including male offenders admitted to the SPDC of San Gerardo Hospital (ASST Monza), between January 2007 and September 2022. Data analysis was performed by using SPSS.

120 male offenders were included for a total of 204 admissions. 98 offenders (81.7%) were hospitalized once. We observed an absolute (N=1; N=30) and percentage (0.2%;12%) increase in the number of hospitalized offenders per year during the time period under study. Jail was the main provenance in the sample (46.6%), followed by residential care facilities (27%) and the psychiatric observation unit (ROP) of Monza’s jail (10.8%). The two most prevalent diagnoses were personality disorders (37.5%) and psychosis (39.2%). In addition, 66 subjects (55%) had a history of substance abuse. The average duration of hospitalization was 19.45 days; it increased to 77 days for inpatients waiting to be transferred to REMS. Hetero-aggressive behavior as the reason for admission was associated with longer hospitalization (p=0.031), while attempted suicide correlated to shorter hospital stay (p=0.032). Out of the 55 offenders who attempted suicide, 41 came from jail (74.5%). Finally, longer hospitalizations were associated with an increased number of adverse events (p=0.001).

Psychiatric hospitalizations of offenders have increased over the last years. This population tends to require longer hospital stays (regional average of SPDC hospitalization in Lombardy: 14 days), which are even lengthier for inpatients destined to REMS. Longer hospitalizations exert a large burden on DSMD’s and impact the general health of patients, exposing them to a higher risk of adverse events. Further studies are needed to confirm our findings and to develop better strategies for the management and care of offender patients.

None Declared

Long-acting injectable antipsychotics have demonstrated advantages over therapeutic adherence and can reduce the rates of relapses and due to treatment discontinuation. The novel presentation of paliperidone palmitate six-month (PP6M) can simplify the treatment to two injections per year.

The purpose of the present research is to describe the profile of patients receiving this novel treatment in our area. For this, a descriptive study has been carried out.

We have collected and analyzed data from a total of 8 patients from the global long-acting injectable nursing registry in our area. The data collection was from May 2022 to October 2022.

Fig. 1: Sociodemographic characteristics and Fig. 2: Clinical characteristics.

None of the patients required hospitalization at the time of the study, although this work team considers that it is early to make conclusions in this regard. No serious or minor adverse effects were reported in any of the cases during the time of the investigation, apart from one case of mild sedation.

The clinical characteristics of most patients were psychopathological stability and good adherence to previous treatment. Although this study shows that the drug was also used in patients who did not meet these characteristics, specially one case of poor social support. The data collected show that the profile of the patient in whom the drug has been prescribed can be varied and broad.

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Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) are common during the course of neurocognitive disorders. NPS have been previously reported in early and late stages of Alzheimer’s Disease. However, our understanding of NPS in high-risk states for dementia such as mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and major depressive disorder (MDD) is poor.

To compare the frequency and factor structure of neuropsychiatric symptoms among individuals with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) in remission, and comorbid MCI and MDD (in remission) (MCI-D).

We used baseline data from the Prevention of Alzheimer’s Dementia with Cognitive Remediation Plus Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Depression (PACt-MD) study, a multicenter trial across five academic sites in Toronto, Canada (clinical trial No. NCT0238667). We used ANOVA or χ2-test to compare frequency of NPS across groups. We used factor analysis of Neuropsychiatric Inventory Questionnaire (NPI-Q) items in the three groups.

We included 374 participants with a mean age of 72.0 years (SD = 6.3). In the overall sample, at least one NPS was present in 64.2% participants, and 36.1 % had at least moderate severity NPS (36.1%). Depression (54%, χ2 < 0.001) and apathy (28.7%, χ2=0.002) were more prevalent in the MCI-D group as compared to MCI and MDD groups. In factor analysis, NPS grouped differently in MCI, MDD, and MCI-D groups. A “psychotic” subgroup emerged among MCI and MCI-D, but not in MDD. Night-time behaviors and disinhibition grouped differently across all three groups.

Prevalence of NPS seems higher in persons with MCI-D as compared to those with only MCI or MDD. The factor structure of NPS differed between MCI, MDD, and MCI-D groups. Future studies should investigate the association of NPS factors with cognition, function, and illness biomarkers.

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The COVID-19 emergency have imposed a great burden on the Italian health and social health system. In this context, healthcare workers (HCWs) have been exposed to high levels of stress. While many studies addressed the consequences of COVID-19 on hospital workers, little interest has been devoted to the employees of nursing homes.

To evaluate levels of depressive, anxious and post-traumatic symptoms in a population of nursing homes workers in Italy one year after the begin of the pandemic.

The research involved 177 nursing homes, to evaluate the Mental Health outcome of the COVID-19 pandemic 12 months after the first lockdown on a large sample of workers. Participants answered a self-assessment tools aimed to assess the level of trauma experienced, the level of anxiety and depression, the quality of professional life and social and work adjustment.

A consistent level of psychological suffering in the HCWs 12 months after the first lock-down and after the third wave of Covid-19 is highlighted, in accordance with what has been observed in similar research. It turns out that about 30% of subjects, more often women, have elements suggestive of symptoms related to PTSD, with moderate levels of anxiety. On the other hand, 15% of the sample presents moderate levels of depressive symptoms and a severe impact on social and occupational functioning. Of these about 40% of staff has significant interference and just over 15% has a severe impact (see figure 1).

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Interventions tailored to support mental health are needed not only for HCWs from hospital units but also for those working in nursing homes and long-term care units.

None Declared

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) consists of an intense, prolonged, and occasionally delayed reaction to a deeply stressful event. PTSD is associated with risk of suicide and chronic psychological impairment. The continued exposure to stress suffered by Healthcare Workers (HCWs) during the COVID-19 pandemic can be considered a mass traumatic event and contribute to higher rates of PTSD in this population.

To study the rates of PTSD in a sample group of healthcare professionals working in a Portuguese general hospital and its relationship with a number of individual variables considered to be relevant by the existing literature on the subject.

We devised a survey to assess the prevalence of PTSD among HCWs in a general hospital and its relationship with sex, social support, profession, work experience in healthcare, time spent caring for COVID-19 patients and place in which the COVID-19-related activities were carried out. PTSD symptoms were assessed using the PCL-5, Portuguese version.

A total of 226 HCWs were included in the study. Provisional diagnosis of PTSD was made based on the PCL-5 responses, considering DSM-5 criteria and the cutoff score of 33.

79 out of 226 (35.0%) HCWs had a provisional diagnosis of PTSD, and a significant association was found between PTSD and time spent working with COVID-19 patients and between PTSD and place of work, namely the COVID-19 Emergency Room and Intensive Care Unit.

Our results are in line with previous studies, highlighting the importance of a serious, wide, and honest discussion about mental health promotion among HCWs. The COVID-19 pandemic has been an undeniable source of stress for HCWs around the globe, and the consequences of this stress are beginning to manifest themselves. It is urgent that this reflection takes place, as it is of paramount importance that what we all have lived in the past years serves as a lesson, and not as a warning of a crisis doomed to repeat itself.

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Spina Bifida(SB) is a congenital disease can cause multi system disfunction and psychiatric symptoms.It is stated that the emotional and physical burden of the caregivers leads to increased levels of anxiety and depression.

According to Gargiulo’s stage model, is composed of three stages. In the first phase parents experience shock, denial and depression. During the secondary phase ambivalance, anger, and guilt is prominent, followed by the tertiary phase in which bargaining, acceptance and adjustment are observed. Adjustment is the process of reorganisation and realignment of the family needs and objectives and variates depending on the character of the family members.

Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS) were used in this research. 66 volunteering parents were included, 34 of them having child with SB and 32 of them having a healthy (non-SB) child.

Depression, anxiety and hopelessness scores were significantly higher in the SB group than the non-SB group. There is a significant positive correlation between education and income levels.

It is determined that the majority of the SB group did not have any support. The greatest burden the parents have is emotional breakdown, followed by economic hardships and physical fatigue. Depression, anxiety and hopelessness scores and age of affected child are negatively correlated. The younger child’s age, the higher the scores. There is a strong, negative and opposite correlation between the parents’ ages and depression scores. Although it is almost impossible for the families to avoid from the hard and long treatment process of the clarify the reasons behind the disease, activate the protective medical services and if possible do prenatal treatment in order to lessen the postnatal degree of the disease are highly significant. Therefore, financial and moral burden of the society are reduced.

None Declared

Lamotrigine(LTG) is a widely used medication for bipolar disorder(BD) maintenance treatment, bipolar depression, epilepsy, trigeminal neuralgia.1The well-known common side effects of LTG are rash,fatigue, gastrointestinal symptoms,dizziness,headache,insomnia.2While one of the most refrained side effects of LTG is Steven Johnson’s syndrome, there have been reports of blood dyscrasia,such as agranulocytosis, neutropenia, pancytopenia.3,4Unfortunately, the exact mechanism of the blood dyscrasias isn’t fully explained.Here we report a case of LTG-induced leucopenia in a patient with BD type 2 patient.We obtained the patient’s consent.

We report a case of a 56-year-old female patient, brought to the emergency unit with complaints of feeling unhappy, hopeless,having trouble sleeping and suicidal thoughts for two months.She attempted suicide a few days ago,had multiple suicide attempts in the last two years.She had 3 psychiatric hospitalizations due to depressive episodes and 1 hypomanic episode.Her mood was depressed.She had psychomotor retardation,no psychotic feature.Due to active suicidal ideation,we admitted her to the inpatient unit with the diagnosis of BD type 2.

Routine blood tests were within the normal range.We increased quetiapine XR 300 mg and venlafaxine 300 mg,which she had already taken;discontinued her aripiprazole treatment and added LTG 25 mg/d. 8 after initiation of LTG,there was a decrease in white blood coun(WBC) from a baseline level of 5.18x109/L to 3x109/L,while neutrophil count decreased from 3.8x109/L to 1.15x109/L in 12 days.Her medical records showed no sign of leucopenia.No pathology was detected in the peripheral smear or ultrasonography performed with the haematology consultation.Considering leucopenia might be an adverse drug reaction associated with LTG, we discontinued LTG treatment on the 9th day of administration. 9 days after discontinuation WBC was up to 4.22x109/L,neutrophil count was 2.78x109/L. We started valproate 500 mg/d and on the 27th day of her stay, she was discharged with a euthymic mood, having no depressive symptoms or suicidal thoughts.Her last treatment was venlafaxine 225 mg, quetiapine XR 300 mg, quetiapine IR 100 mg, valproate 500 mg, lorazepam 1 mg daily.

It is a retrospective review.

In this LTG naive patient,the WBC values were within the normal range at admission.There was a significant temporal relationship between the initiation of the LTG and the decrease in WBC values.The absence of other factors in the laboratory tests and examinations,the rapid increase of WBC levels after the LTG was discontinued suggests the observed effect may be a side effect of LTG.

Blood dyscrasies aren’t a very common side effect of LTG, but it might be helpful to see CBC, especially in older populations, on patients with polypharmacy regimens and with severe mental illness that may interfere with patient’s ability to express any subtle side effect.

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The prevalence of mental disorders in Higher Education Students (HES) is high and has shown a worrying growth. However, only a small percentage of HES in need of psychological support request it, due to the stigma related to mental illness, requesting informal help from friends and family. Training and increasing Mental Health Literacy (MHL) have been stated as appropriate strategies to reduce stigma and increase the demand for professional psychological support. However, with the increase in the demand for help, the difficulty of providing an adequate response from psychological support of HE services also increases. Therefore, procedures that develop socio-emotional skills in the HES and strategies that enhance the responsiveness of these services are necessary.

Taking in consideration the literature review in this field, we develop a project to improve the mental health of HES. The project objectives’: a) the reduction of stigma related to mental disorders through the promotion of MHL in the academic community; b) the promotion of mental health and socio-emotional skills of HES; c) increasing detection and active search for professional mental health support, and d) the implementation of psychological intervention based on a stepped care model that provides an adequate response to most of the students’ mental health needs, according to individual needs.

The project proposes to perform the following methods: a) training in mental health open to the academic community, which will aim to train volunteers to be Gatekeepers, in order to promote awareness, detection and referral of students in need of professional psychological support; b) implementation of a Student Observatory, with tracking of psychopathological symptoms, supported on the Web; c) implementation of a psychological intervention program based on a stepped care model, which will include the following progressive phases by severity: 1) digital self-help manual; 2) web-based self-help groups; 3) psychological intervention groups supported by the Web; 4) face-to-face intervention groups and 5) individual psychological intervention.

Students will be assessed before and after each step of care, with the following psychological instruments: Mental Health Inventory (MHI); Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7).

The implementation of the presented methods expect to achieve improvements on HES’ mental health, namely improvement of MHI, reduction of PHQ-9 and GAD-7 after each step of the psychological care.

The project presented encloses evidence-based interventions, with inspiration on psychoeducation and cognitive behavioral approaches, and it is expected to contribute to the improvement of mental health of HES. The results will be collected and disseminated. We encourage other researcher and clinicians to perform studies about the mental health of HES.

None Declared

The ICD and DSM diagnostic categories do not represent entirely distinct entities because several cognitive impairments are shared across psychiatric disorders. Such shared cognitive impairments are hypothesized to be caused by common neurobiological substrates, one of which is transdiagnostic alterations in functional network connectivity (FNC).

To investigate and compare the within-network functional connectivity (WNFC) and between-network functional connectivity (BNFC) in alcohol use disorder (AUD), schizophrenia (SCZ), bipolar affective disorder (BPAD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and healthy controls (HC) using resting-state fMRI employing a data-driven exploratory approach.

The current study was a secondary analysis of data from the ADBS project in India. After pre-processing of fMRI data, a spatially and temporally constrained group-independent component analysis in the GIFT toolbox was performed using the NeuroMark templates to generate 53 independent components (ICs). These components were divided into seven functional domains including subcortical (SC), auditory (AU), sensorimotor (SM), visual (VI), cognitive-control (CC), default-mode (DM), and cerebellar (CB). To investigate the FNC correlations associated with group status (patients or HC) univariate models were applied which were subjected to corrections for multiple comparisons at an alpha=0.05 significance level using the FDR.

The overall sample size was 249 [AUD=35, SCZ=44, BPAD=48, OCD=53, and HC=69]. Transdiagnostic WNFC alterations largely involved dysconnectivity in the CC, DM, and SC domains, resulting in ICs with both increased and decreased WNFC. Transdiagnostic BNFC alterations were primarily in the form of increased connectivity of the SC domain with various cortical domains whereas reduced connectivity was noted between AU, VI, SM, and CB domains. There was AUD-specific hyperconnectivity in the CC domain and SCZ-specific hyperconnectivity in the DM domain, and dysconnectivity in the SC domain. BPAD-specific hyperconnectivity was identified in DM and SC domains in addition to increased connectivity between CB and SM domains and decreased connectivity between CB and SC domains. All results were significant at p ≤ 0.05; [FDR] q= 0.05.

Our transdiagnostic WNFC alterations corresponded to the central executive network, default mode network, salience network, and CSTC loop, which provided transdiagnostic evidence for the triple network model of psychopathology and underlined the relevance of subcortical dysconnectivity in this model. Furthermore, our BNFC changes showed subcortical hyperconnectivity with many cortical networks, underscoring its relevance as a potential target for transdiagnostic therapeutic interventions.

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Caregiving negatively affects the psychological and physical health of the caregivers, especially in parents of children with neurological impairement (NI).Furthermore, the behavior and demands of the patient make the caregivers encounter increased stress levels and negative thoughtsabout the future that may lead to depression in caregivers.

To assess the relationship between caregiver burden and symptoms of depression in parents of children with NI.

A total of 33 caregivers of children with NI, participated in this cross-sectional, descriptive and analytical study, carried out in Child Neurology Department of the University Hospital in Sfax (Tunisia), between February and April 2021.

The Zarit-Caregiver-Burden-Scale (Zarit-CBS) and the Beck Depression Scale were administered.

The average age of the caregivers (27 mothers and 6 fathers) was 38,33 years ± 6,53 years. Among the parents, 81,81% didn’t exceed the secondary educational level and75,75% of them had an irregular occupation.

The average age of the children (21 boys and 12 girls) was 7,58±4,29 years.Near to the half of them (51,51%) had intellectual disability.Over 54.54% of the children had a functional independence, while 21.21% required help in walking and 24.24% were unable to walk.

The intervention was based on motor rehabilitation (57,57%), adequate equipment (24,24%), ergotherapy (45,45%) and speech therapy (60,6%).After the intervention, 63,63% of children had an improvement and 30,3% had a stationary state.

The mean score of Zarit-CBS was 52,45±14,26. The caregiver burden was noted in 96,96%.

The mean score of Beck was 9,33±5,48. The depression was noted in 78,78%.

The total Zarit-CBS score had positive correlation with Beck scores (p=0.038).

There is a positive relationship between the caregiver burden and depression symptoms. Thus, effort should be made to relieve caregiver burden in parents of children with NI.

None Declared

Mood Disorder (MD) affects more than 300 million people globally, and its etiology is unknown. In recently published data, MD has been correlated with inflammation and the immune system. Circulating monocytes have been proposed to play a role in the pathophysiology of depression.

To determine if there is a specific activation profile of monocytes in patients with MD that differentiates them from healthy control (HC).

Study Design: Case-control study matched by sex and age. The study was approved by IRB and carried out in three hospitals in Argentina.Participants between 18 and 55 years old from both genders, were evaluated by psychiatrists using the International Psychiatry Interview (MINI) to diagnose Mood Disorder (MD), and the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HADRS) to define active disease (AD), non-active disease (NAD) or healthy control (HC). The three monocyte subtypes were directly stained and analyzed in a drop of 100 uL of blood sample based on our validated monocyte cocktail including CD11b, HLA-DR, CD86, CD14 and CD16 expression by flow cytometry. To define normality Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was employed. A parametric T-test with Welch´s correction was employed for normal distribution and a non-parametric Mann Whitney test was used when comparing populations that do not pass the normality test.

The sample characteristics were shown in Table 1. Patients with AD (Hamilton >7) (n: 37), patients with NAD (Hamilton <7) (n: 38), and HC (n: 39) were recruited. The percentage of classical monocytes decreased in AD vs NAD (p=0.04), both AD, and NAD have significantly lower levels of classical monocytes than HC (****p<0.001) (Image 1). The percentage of intermediate monocytes is higher in AD vs NAD (p=0.05), both AD, and NAD have significantly higher levels of intermediate monocytes than HC (****p<0.001) (Image 2). The percentage of non-classical monocytes is higher in AD vs NAD (p=0.05), both AD, and NAD have significantly higher levels of non-classical monocytes than HC (****p<0.001) (Image 3).Table 1.

General characteristics of the sample

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While comparing percentages of three different monocyte subsets, clear differences in their distribution among the control and patient groups were appreciated. After comparing the subset frequencies between active patients (AD) and patients who were in remission (NAD), significant differences among the subsets were found although without reaching values of the HC, indicating that even patients in remission show an activated monocyte profile.

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Berscheid (1999), taken from Lacunza & Contini (2016), indicated that social relations were the foundation of the human condition. From positive psychology, Park et al. (2013) point out good relationships as a factor that contributes to a good psychological life, since they provide emotional and instrumental support in times of stress and challenge, indicating, in turn, normal evolutionary development and the avoidance of psychopathological problems.

To establish the relationship between positive relationships and the presence of stressors in adolescents.

A cross-sectional, descriptive-correlational study was carried out in 109 (N= 109) adolescents. The SISCO Inventory was used to study academic stress as well as the Ryff Psychological Well-Being Scale.

A negative magnitude correlation was found between positive relationships and stressors. ( Table 1).

As a secondary result, 60.6% of the evaluated adolescents presented life purpos as the factor with the highest score in the psychological well-being variable. This points to authors such as Erikson (1988, p. 96), who define adolescence as a space characterized by feelings of creativity, productivity, new ideas, and a period of cognitive and social maturation, which leads to a definitive commitment to life itself. (Graph 1).

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Positive relationships in adolescents decrease the presence of stimuli considered stressors.

None Declared

The COVID-19 pandemic has produced negative mental health outcomes, which were more prominent in vulnerable communities, such as Fort McMurray (FMM), the community that experienced prior similar disasters.

This study aimed to examine the likelihood and correlates of anxiety symptoms among FMM residents, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A cross-sectional online survey questionnaire was applied between 24 April and 2 June 2021, at FMM community to gather a set of data, including sociodemographic, COVID-19, and clinical information. Generalized anxiety disorder was the main outcome of the study, and was measured using GAD-7 scale.

Overall, 186 individuals completed the survey (response rate 74.7%). Most of the respondents were females (159, 85.5%); above 40 years (98, 52.7%); employed (175, 94.1%); and in relationship (132, 71%). The prevalence of moderate-to-severe anxiety was (42.5%, 71) on GAD-7 self-reported scale. Subscribers who reported that they would like to receive mental health support; have received no family support since COVID-19 declaration; and have lost their job during the pandemic were all more likely to report moderate-to-severe anxiety (OR = 3.39; 95% CI: 1.29-8.88), (OR = 4.85; 95% CI: 1.56-15.03), and (OR = 4.40; 95% CI: 1.01-19.24), respectively.

Anxiety levels were high among FMM residents, compared to levels before COVID-19. Clinical and social factors related to the COVID-19 pandemic significantly predicted likely anxiety among Fort McMurray population. It is imperative to mobilize resources to support vulnerable communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

None Declared

Visual impairment in schizophrenia is of interest as a potential biomarker of the mental state. The study of visual impairment in patients with schizophrenia is difficult due to the fact that visual perception can be influenced not only by the patient’s condition, but also by age, drug treatment, concomitant eye diseases, etc. To reduce the influence of these factors, we studied visual disturbances in schizophrenic patients in dynamics at the second and eighth weeks of stable antipsychotic single treatment.

To reveal changes in visual impairment in inpatients with schizophrenia on the background of changes in mental state.

Eleven inpatients with schizophrenia who received antipsychotic monotherapy and thirteen healthy subjects of the same age and sex were included in the study. Examinations were performed at weeks 2 and 8 of treatment. The contrast-frequency characteristics of the visual system were examined using computer visocontrastometry. Visocontrastometry was performed in Gabor element contrast detection (gratings) with spatial frequencies of 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1.0, 4.0, 10.0 and 17.9 cycles/degree. Images of Gabor elements of different spatial frequency were repeated in random order 8 times each. The severity of the mental state was assessed during the interview using the PANSS (Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale).

Patients’ total PANSS score at week 2 averaged 94.09±17.58 and at week 8 averaged 52.45±6.06; at week 8 the total score was significantly lower than at week 2 (V = 66, p-value = 0.004). In the low-frequency region after treatment, patients tended to have lower thresholds (V = 2207, p-value = 0.060), but both at week 2 and week 8, thresholds were significantly higher in patients than in the healthy group (W = 7233, p-value < 2.2e-16, W = 6924.5, p-value = 1.204e-11, respectively). Mid-range frequencies increased at week 8 compared with week 2 (V = 925, p-value = 0.003), but were also lower at weeks 2 and 8 than in the healthy group (W = 1479, p-value = 7.247e-12, W = 3156.5, p-value = 0.004, respectively). In the high frequency region, thresholds also increased after the treatment (V = 908, p-value = 2.084e-05), at week 2, thresholds in patients were significantly lower than in healthy controls (W = 2574.5, p-value = 2.757e-07), and at week 8, thresholds in the patient and healthy groups were not different (W = 4759.5, p-value = 0.461).

The impairments in the low spatial frequencies in schizophrenic patients appear earliest and, apparently, are the most persistent. Changes in the middle and high frequencies appeared to be more variable with changes in the mental state. Unfortunately, our design does not allow us to judge the persistence of the revealed changes. Further prospective studies are needed to investigate the relationship of visual disturbances with other symptoms.

None Declared

This work was supported by a grant from the Russian Science Foundation (project no. 22-18-00074).

To fully comprehend and appreciate the impact of psychosurgery on treatment-resistant depression it is pertinent to review its initial development and subsequent history. By reviewing previous studies of psychosurgery, we can build a narrative of what was, what currently is and what might be. Assessing the complex philosophical dilemma of the mind and the impact this has on individuals’ concept of psychosurgery has helped to bridge the gap between Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.

We aimed to examine this question, starting at the very beginnings of our concept of mind, working through to modern-day thinking, how we approach both neurosurgery and psychiatry and help to bridge the two.

A narrative review of the current literature concerning neurosurgery for mental disorders and said applications to modern psychiatry was conducted. Emphasis on philosophical thought processing in conjunction with the neurosurgical intervention was noted.

Psychosurgery has its roots in the early philosophy of mind, concerned with distinguishing whether the mind is a physical entity or immaterial. Psychosurgery is reliant on a physical concept of the mind, or at the very least that the mind supervenes the physical brain. History has shown us examples of this, with the archetype of this being the story of Phineas Gage. Since its onset psychosurgery has moved in and out of vogue. After being met with early scepticism it later went on to be performed thousands of times to help cure schizophrenia. In the 1800s, Gottlieb Burkhardt pioneered initial surgical interventions on the brain with intended psychiatric outcomes, moving on to work from Egas Moniz and the development of leucotomies and famously lobotomies, to modern medical techniques of Deep Brain Stimulation.

Psychosurgery has faced much opposition throughout history due to the uniquely invasive nature of not just affecting us physically but also mentally and the implications that this has for us as humans and our understanding of ourselves. As both medical and cultural views of mental health have changed over time, so has our understanding of psychosurgery and its potential applications. It is possible that early attempts to implement psychosurgery, before the advent of modern medicine, did more harm to psychosurgery’s reputation than good. However, without those early forays, we may never have progressed to the modern techniques we now utilise.

None Declared

Patients suffering from psychiatric disorders represent a population that is particularly at risk of COVID-19-related morbidity and mortality. Vaccination was the most effective strategy to prevent the severe forms of the disease.

We aimed in our study to determine the rate of COVID-19 vaccination and to identify its correlated factors in psychiatric outpatients.

This is a descriptive and analytical cross-sectional study conducted on 178 outpatients at the department of psychiatry (Monastir, Tunisia) over a period of one month (from March 2022 to April 2022). Data was collected via a questionnaire focused on two main attributes: (1) sociodemographic and clinical characteristics; (2) questions about the flu vaccination history and its modalities.

The mean age of our patients was 44.9±13.7 years. The majority of them (81.5%) had a chronic evolution of their psychiatric disorder (> 2 years). Psychosis was the most represented disorder with 57.3% compared to mood disorders and anxiety disorders. Among our population, 73% of the patients received vaccination against COVID-19. The majority got 2 doses (60%), were vaccinated on their own initiative (68%) and by making an appointment (71.4%). Patients with depressive disorders accessed to vaccination program in 100% of cases. The group of psychotic patients had a vaccination rate of 66%. Vaccination was significantly associated with gender (p=0.001), age (p=0.04), marital status (p<10-3), number of children (p=0.002), housing situation (0.018), diagnosis (p<10-3) and treatment (p=0.01)

Patients with psychiatric disorders experience a distinct burden of the COVID-19 disease. They should therefore be prioritised in vaccine allocation strategies, especially among patients with psychotic disorders.

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Functioning in acute inpatient psychiatric units has been challenged by the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Patients with more severe mental health symptoms changed their rates of voluntary admission to psychiatric wards during the onset of the pandemic. Peritraumatic distress scores and increased likelihood of being psychologically affected by the COVID-19 pandemic can lead to a psychiatric admission. However, other factors could prevent hospitalization.

The present investigation aimed at admission rates of patients by depression, adjustment disorder or suicidal behaviour to a General Hospital Psychiatric Ward. We compared the lockdown due to COVID-19 in 2020 to similar periods of 2018 and 2019.

The data of one general hospital psychiatric ward admissions have been obtained and analysed. We compared admission characteristics of 237 patients between April and June of 2018 and 2019 with 79 patients in the same period of 2020 (lockdown).

During the COVID-19 lockdown, there was a 35.8% reduction in psychiatric admissions and a significant reduction in psychiatric admission was observed due to suicidal behaviour (IRR = 0.49; 95% CI: 0.26-0.89; p=0.002) and depression (IRR = 0.24; 95% CI: 0.08-0.68; p=0.007), but similar rates of adjustment disorders (IRR = 1.12; 95% CI: 0.58-2.15; p=0.73).

We suggest that patients with depression or suicidal behaviour avoided admission, for fear of contagion in hospitals. Also, greater family support could prevent self-injurious behaviours. By contrast, other disorders continued to require the same admission rate, since the social consequences derived from confinement could lead to the genesis or worsening of symptoms, such as adjustment disorders.

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Recently, the diffusion of sophisticated neuroimaging techniques has tremendously advanced our understanding of brain structure and function. Nevertheless, the current knowledge of the neurobiology of complex mental illnesses - like major psychoses and depression - is limited, hindering the development and validation of biomarkers for diagnosis, prognosis, and prediction of treatment response.

Increasing evidence is suggesting a crucial role of environmental, personal, and behavioral processes, interacting among themselves and with genetics, in shaping mental functioning and psychopathological risk. In this context, the study of brain maturation trajectories and of their association with genetic and environmental factors can provide key insights on the risk for the emergence of mental illnesses over lifetime.

The present lecture will provide an overview of our recent research on the brain underpinnings of psychotic and affective disorders onsetting during either adolescence/young adulthood or late adulthood. Evidence obtained from young samples of twins will be presented to provide useful information on the genetic and environmental determinants of physiological and pathological neurodevelopmental trajectories. The complex relationships among life events, brain morphology and connectivity, and psychopathology will be discussed by showing our recent findings on multicentric transdiagnostic samples of young adults and elders. Special focus will be given to the brain mechanisms affected by social stressors, including discrimination and bullyism, as well as chronic stress, and their possible role in facilitating the onset or in enhancing the severity of psychotic and affective disorders.

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